Hetairoi (Companion Cavalry)
|-|EB1= |-|EB2= EB1: Hetairoi (Companions) are a social and military elite, and fight as heavy cavalry using shock and mass to break enemy units. EB2: The hetairoi are the elite cavalry of the Successor state armies. Their heavy horses, armour, and equipment enable them to act as shock cavalry and maintain the fight even in close combat. They are dependable, loyal, unlikely to rout easily, and can often decide the fate of battles: the hammer of the Alexandrian tactical dogma. Description EB1: The Hetairoi, or Companions, were the elite noble heavy cavalry of the Diadochoi. They are an elite heavy cavalry that is second to none and arguably the best cavalry of the period. They fight with a degree of élan, discipline, and simple ferociousness that is matched only by the horsemen of Iberia, Karchedon, and the best heavy cavalry of the eastern nomadic peoples. They are armored from head to toe in iron plate (some still had bronze, but this was falling out of favor rapidly by 250 BC), reinforced with mail at key points. Their horses are barded with felt barding and often have bronze plates to protect their heads. Their helmets, with the two plumes, mark them on a battlefield. They are best used as heavy shock cavalry, able to decide many battles with a single charge. They are the second part of the hammer and anvil of Alexandrian battle tactics. They are armed with a xyston and a kopis, and are true masters of both weapons. If these men have any weakness, it is the front of a line of spearmen. Horses, not matter how well trained, simply do not want to charge into certain death. Nevertheless, these superb cavalry men are easily able to devastate even the toughest of foes with a well timed charge into their flanks or rear. Historically, the Hetairoi were first created by Philippos, following the lead of the cavalrymen of Thessalia, to the south. Philippos went one better, armoring them to the teeth and giving them the xyston, a twelve foot long lance tipped with a large steel head. They were armored head to toe in bronze plate, with helms, cuirass, bracers and greaves. Alexandros often replaced this armor with lighter linen when they were traveling, but was quick to replace the bronze in any hard fought engagement. Alexandros added little to their equipment but trained them to ride their horses in such a way that each man was an expert horsemen as well as a shock cavalryman. The Diadochoi kept this mold, but added mail reinforcement to the bronze armor at the joints before replacing it with iron and added felt and lamellar barding to the horses after encountering enemy cavalry that used such equipment with a high degree of success. During the third century their usage declined with the Diadochoi’s ability to pay for such heavily armored men. They degenerated to such a point where only a handful were present at major battles, and were far from the war winning force that they had been earlier. Perhaps with a bit of luck and more funding, a commander could use them in their true glory once more... EB2: Hetairoi ('companions') Hail stratege! These men, your hetairoi (companions), are the wealthiest and most powerful in the kingdom. Their elan is unmatched by any other in any kingdom and a force to be feared. Astride the best horses available, equipped with heavy armour and armed with the long xyston and heavy kopis these men are capable of fighting and defeating any opponent. And no doubt their reputation precedes their heavy, thunderous charge. They are shock cavalry, and their loyalty and skill will change the course of battles for you. That is, as long as you do not squander them. Philip II's reforms revolutionised the way cavalry operated in the ancient world. Gone were the loose formations and individualized combat; replaced with organised, well-drilled rank & file that fought in a coordinated manner. The finest example of this was to be found in the hetairoi, companions of the king, whom they fought beside and for; made of the most powerful men of the Makedonian nobility. After Philip they followed Alexander to India and back only to find themselves caught in between his polemic successors. Over the subsequent centuries, the hetairoi always formed the vanguard of Successor state cavalry. At times it seems that they may have been equipped with shields, but most of the time it seems they went without and functioned purely as lancers. More than a match for any cavalry of any other nation or state, they were present at all the major military operations and battles of the Successors. With time, however, the near constant state of warfare took its toll on the Makedonian nobility that would have formed the hetairoi and their numbers began to shrink. Only a few hundred could be mustered by the Antigonid kingdom by its end (partly due to Alexander's aftermath, the fighting over his empire and the Galatian invasion), and even the wealthy Ptolemaic kingdom could not supply the numbers that Alexander commanded. In the east, things were much different. The lands that were conquered by Seleukos seemed able to produce, at least at first, much more cavalry than they could infantry. As a consequence, the Seleukid cavalry arm always maintained an impressive size. This was as much due to Seleukos' city-building efforts as it was to his inclusion of the Median nobility in his military - the latter with other nations under Seleukid suzerainty, according to the historian Livy, made up the cavalry agema, which always operated in tandem with the hetairoi and, other than national origin, seems to have had no obvious differences. Only after the cataclysmic loss of Antiochos VII in his campaign to the east, where the Seleukid military was broken beyond repair, did its cavalry dwindle. Usage One of the best heavy cavalry in-game. The Hetairoi are one of the most renowned cavalry units in the world and it shows in their stats. They should be used for multiple decisive charges, hammering the enemy while the phalanx units holds them down and due to their horses stamina, they are more than capable of that. As with other heavy cavalry, they should be accompanied by fast medium cavalry like the Prodromoi (Successor Medium Cavalry) or the Lonchophoroi Hippeis (Hellenic Medium Cavalry). They should watch out against slingers due to the fact they are not armed with shields and the slingers will get a few hits due to their armor-piercing missiles. EB1 Heitairoi Selucid.jpg|Seluecid Render EB1 Ptolemaic Hetairoi.jpg|Ptolemaic Render Category:Units Category:Arche Seleukeia Category:Makedonia Category:Ptolemaioi Category:Pergamon